Eddie O'Sullivan has named his USA squad for the Churchill Cup and is hoping his players use the tournament as a dry run for next year's World Cup.

Captain Todd Clever is one of ten players who will miss the competition through injury, but the former Ireland coach has still named a 29-strong squad for their campaign which starts in Colorado against Russia on June 5. The squad is based across seven different countries.

France A, Russia, Uruguay, Canada and England Saxons are also taking part in the tournament. The pool games take place in Colorado and the final will take place in New York on June 19. The Eagles open their World Cup campaign in New Zealand on September 11, 2011 against O'Sullivan's former team Ireland and will also face Australia, Italy and the Russians and the Irishman is looking for his players to stake a claim for a place in his final squad.

"The Churchill Cup is very important on many fronts," he said. "It allows players an opportunity to strengthen their positions within the Eagles pool, it allows us to see Russia up close and personal for the first time in a while and it exposes the players to a tournament format that is very similar to the model that will operate next year in New Zealand. These are all important as parts of our development on the road to Rugby World Cup 2011, which is just 15 months away."

O'Sullivan took charge of the Eagles in March 2009 and guided them to RWC qualification with a play-off victory over Uruguay last November.